Cheating the public revenue


Published by a ½Û×ÓÊÓƵ Corporate Crime expert
Practice notes

Cheating the public revenue


Published by a ½Û×ÓÊÓƵ Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes
imgtext

Offence of cheating the public revenue

The offence of cheating the public revenue is a common law offence triable only on Indictment. This means that, where the public revenue is the victim, the fraud will always be tried in the Crown Court, even though, had it been perpetrated privately between individuals, it might be suitable for summary trial.

Section 32(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968) preserves the offence while abolishing the offence of cheating in general.

In R v Dosanjh, the Court of Appeal determined that it is reasonably to be assumed that Parliament has deliberately left the common law offence untouched by statutory changes in this area because it recognised that it was appropriate to do so for the protection of the public. In that case, the Court of Appeal held there was good reason for charging the common law offence in relation to 'missing trader intra-community' (MTIC) frauds (see further: Missing trader intra-community (MTIC) or carousel fraud).

The offence itself covers a broad category of offending and is widely used by His Majesty’s

Powered by Lexis+®
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Indictment definition
What does Indictment mean?

The indictment consists of the charge or charges preferred against the defendant by the prosecution once the case is begun.

Read more readmore

Popular documents

Conspiracy to defraud

Conspiracy to defraudOffence of conspiracy to defraudConspiracy to defraud is a common law offence which was expressly preserved by section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 (CLA 1977) and is triable only on indictment.The offence requires that two or more individuals conspire dishonestly to commit

Cheating the public revenue

Cheating the public revenueOffence of cheating the public revenueThe offence of cheating the public revenue is a common law offence triable only on indictment. This means that, where the public revenue is the victim, the fraud will always be tried in the Crown Court, even though, had it been

Robbery

RobberyRobberyRobbery is a theft offence under section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), involving dishonesty but elevated also by the use of, or threat of, force.Robbery can only be tried in the Crown Court on indictment.Elements of the offence of robberyA person is guilty of robbery if:•they

Fraudulent trading under the Fraud Act 2006

Fraudulent trading under the Fraud Act 2006Fraudulent trading under the Fraud Act 2006A defendant who is a sole trader, in a partnership or a trust, commits the offence of fraudulent trading if they are knowingly party to the carrying on of a company’s business either with intent to defraud